31-12-2025 LOS ANGELES: On Chinese social media, stories of U.S. financial hardship have gone viral under the phrase “death line,” describing how many Americans are just one crisis away from poverty. Roughly 67 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, according to PNC Bank’s 2025 Financial Wellness report, while …

30-12-2025 TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: Iran has promised to respond harshly to any aggression after United States President Donald Trump threatened further military action, should Tehran attempt to rebuild its nuclear program or missile capabilities. President Masoud Pezeshkian issued the warning on social media on Tuesday, a day after Trump met Prime …

30-12-2025 NEW YORK: New York has approved a new law requiring social media companies to display mental health warning labels on certain addictive features, a step state leaders say is intended to reduce harm linked to excessive online use. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the measure Friday, targeting design tools such …

30-12-2025 BEIJING: China on Saturday passed revisions to a key piece of legislation aimed at strengthening Beijing’s ability to wage trade war, curb outbound shipments from strategic minerals to sex dolls, and further open its $19 trillion economy. The latest revision to the Foreign Trade Law, approved by China’s top …

30-12-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Coforge has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Encora in an all-stock transaction valued at $2.35 billion, describing the acquisition as a “defining moment” for the company as it builds capabilities in AI-led engineering, data and cloud services. On a conference call with analysts, Coforge …

30-12-2025 SANA’A: A separatist group in southern Yemen that this month seized two oil-rich provinces has claimed that Saudi Arabia has fired warning airstrikes directed at its forces. Videos issued on Friday by media linked to the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) showed airstrikes that it said were …

30-12-2025 LONDON: The UK government has finally evacuated Manar al-Houbi, the Gaza student who won a fully funded scholarship to pursue her PhD at the University of Glasgow, along with her family from the war-ravaged territory this week. In October, the Guardian highlighted Houbi’s desperate battle to get her family …

30-12-2025 CARACAS: Venezuela has said it has carried out its largest release of political prisoners this year, claiming to have freed 99 people detained for taking part in protests after the 2024 election, widely believed to have been stolen by the dictator Nicolas Maduro, as it comes under increasing military …

30-12-2025 MARYLAND: Cyclones and floods in south-east Asia this autumn killed more than 1,750 people and caused more than $25bn (£19bn) in damage, while the death toll from California wildfires topped 400 people, with $60bn in damage, according to research on the costliest climate-related disasters of the year. China’s devastating …

Hyderabad, December 29 ( PMI): Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Branch, K. Apoorva Rao said that the Passport Verification Cell has achieved a 99 per cent disposal rate. He stated that a total of 2,30,617 applications were received, of which 2,27,889 have been cleared, while 2,782 applications are still pending. …